The Quiet One
by midnightquiver
Summary: Graham Miller. Always thought he was underrated and deserved more, so I give you this-He knew Buffy first, well, technically he saw her first. He'd always hidden what he thought about her until he didn't and it spun Buffy's world round. Riley's best friend caring about the Slayer and more understanding about what it meant to be one? What happens now? (An AU of Season 4 and on.)
1. Chapter 1

**So I've always thought there were several characters that wer underrated and deserved more, like Graham here, for example. Gage from Go Fish, too, but that's another story for another time. I always thought he shouldn't have gone fishy, and i won't go on this long rant because you have a story to read. Anyway, I thought Graham deserved more and so I'm going to him just that through this AU version of Season four on forward.**

 **Enjoy and leave a review please :)**

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He saw her before Riley did. She stopped in the campus square completely overwhelmed by everything around her. As he turned to go see if she was alright, a short redhead, her friend by the looks of it, waltzed up to her, excited and showing off the usual flurry of flyers that the school organizations loved to hand out on orientation. A small wave of relief came over the blonde girl.

Graham smiled a little. She was cute and the total embodiment of a fish out of water freshman.

"Where have you been?" Forest asked, coming up next to him. He scanned across the crowd. "Freshman, a whole new class to sink my fingers into."

Graham snorted, but left the overly sexual comment alone.

"See Riley anywhere?" Graham asked.

"I think he went to the bookstore on an errand for Walsh. He is her pet after all."

Graham scratched the side of his head. Forest wasn't wrong. Riley was her favorite and the high commander. Graham was his third in command next to Forest who was second.

"Let's go. Party at the house tonight," Forest said.

* * *

Graham hadn't been in a partying mood. About thirty minutes into the shindig, he left for a walk. He'd been off on his own a lot lately. No one really noticed. He was the quiet one and also the one for solid advice unlike Forest.

He was making is way across campus when he heard a strange noise, sounded like grunting not far off. Treading carefully, he moved towards the brush where the noise came from an pulled it aside. It was the blonde girl he'd seen earlier today and she was fighting…a vampire.

Graham reached for his sidearm which wasn't there because of course it wasn't. He wasn't in uniform, but it was such an automatic response to reach for it. By the looks of it though, the blonde had it under control for the most part. She was giving out as much power behind her punches and kicks as the vampire. And then two more showed up and just like in the square today, she was overwhelmed and she looked at them, scared and panicky. Graham tensed, ready to go in there and help, but stopped when she ran. The vampires didn't run after her. His jaw clenched at their wise cracks and the sudden mention of the Slayer. Slayer? What was a Slayer?

He hurried after the blonde, but didn't get to close as to spook her more as she hurried back to her dormitory, holding her arm to her chest.

After Pop Culture the next morning, of which she'd shown up again and the professor had kicked her to the curb for disturbing the class. Graham kept his eyes forward, wanting to cut in and defend her. He didn't say a word though. She didn't even see him there as she stuttered and then rushed out.

The library was large, but strangely the information on Slayers was little next to none. He'd found maybe three books in the mythology section. He had better luck on the net. Apparently the Slayer went along the lines of being the chosen one who fights the vampires, demons and forces of darkness.

"How…archaic," Graham mumbled to himself.

"Light research?"

Graham exited out of the window on the computer as Riley Finn sat down in the empty seat next to him.

"Mythology class," Graham lied.

Riley must not have had a good enough look because he didn't press anything more. Before the two struck up any more conversation their beepers went off and a herd of shhh's followed them out of the library.

"Where'd you go last night?" Riley asked as they got back to the house.

"Went for a walk," Graham replied. Forest met them on the stairs, baring his usual scowl.

"You? Go for a walk? Right," Forest snorted.

Graham just shrugged, shrinking back into quiet mode. It was a beautiful thing really. They didn't ask a lot of questions and he didn't say a lot. He was the shy, quiet one.

The green light of the retinal scan moved over the three of them and the doors opened.

"Riley Finn, Forest Gates, Graham Miller. Access granted."

They stepped inside.

"Did you find what Walsh was looking for?" Forest asked as the elevator descended.

"Yes. I was doing my job. She just needed an extra textbook for Psych," Riley replied.

"What did I tell you, lap dog," Forest said, jokingly. He nudged Graham in the side.

"I'm the T.A. So again, it's my job." Riley rolled his eyes.

The elevator stopped and opened up to the military base underground. A group of soldiers whizzed past them on a small motor vehicle, their guns sat upright on their knee with the firing end up toward the high ceiling.

"Anyway, a Freshman came into class today and asked me if the teacher had any plans on yelling at her." Riley chuckled.

Graham flashed to the blonde girl in Pop Culture.

"Was she cute? Did you get her name?" Forest inquired.

Graham shook his head. The guy had one thing on his mine 23/6. He was mostly preoccupied thinking the other night when he spotted her. He wondered if she was alright. And that she was a Slayer. That's what those vamps called her and they laughed like it was a joke.

"She was…peculiar. Her name is Buffy." Riley said.

Graham's head snapped up at the name. So that's who she is, he thought.

After protocol and a patrol around campus that evening, Graham snuck back towards where the vampires came from.

He stopped in the clearing where he'd spotted them and…Buffy. He let out a heavy sigh at the thought of her. She was a Freshman while he was a Junior. Not that it mattered. He hadn't talked to her once. He just saw her…from afar.

He followed back a faint trail to an old, condemned frat house. He crouched down as he snuck to the side of the house, looking between the cracks of the boarded up windows. The leader of the vamps, the one who'd hurt Buffy was sitting up on a chair as her cronies were going through things. By the looks of it and the way they were talking, these were Buffy's things.

He stood up, thinking about a way in and a plan to get rid of these guys when the skylight fell through and with it, a girl. Buffy stared up at the lead vampire who called herself Sunday—what a tacky name.

"Oh," Buffy said, small and nervously. She stood up really quickly.

Graham tensed with strong discomfort that she was in there alone. He need to find a way in and quick.

"Say, don't I know you from beating the crap out of you," Sunday quipped.

"Just thought I'd drop in," Buffy said with a short, even more nervous laugh.

Graham hurried to the back of the house. Crashing and glass could be heard breaking. Lucky for him that he brought his firearm this time. He ran up the back porch and tried the back door. It was stuck and so he rammed his shoulder into it.

He stopped when the frenzy grew even more and peeked in the window. There was a sigh of relief at seeing a group of people come bursting into the house. Her friends, he presumed. He watched as Buffy tossed a vamp effortlessly across the room and staked another easily. She twirled the stake in her hand and threw it with perfect precision, nailing Sunday in the heart. The vampire turned to dust and a smirk played across Buffy's face.

Graham moved back to the front of the house, but stayed low so as not to be spotted. The small gang came out, chatting amongst themselves like this was completely normal, an every night event.

"This is turning out to be a lot like high school," Buffy quipped as an older gentleman (her father?) came rushing towards her with a multitude of weapons. They all laughed and continued back to campus.

Graham knew he should report this. He could be in serious trouble if he didn't. But he was the quiet and shy one and nobody asked him a lot of questions.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Thank you to my readers and reviewers. You are greatly appreciated.**

 **Also, I own nothing about Buffy. I should've said that before.**

 **Furthermore, while I'm trying to keep canon, the chapters will be a variety of lengths. I hope you keep reviewing.**

 **Here's a new chapter.**

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"Where have you been?" Forest inquired with a nod at Graham.

Graham shook his head. Out just watching a vampire Slayer, who is seriously a tiny girl, he thought to himself. She's stronger than any of them and spry. He'd been taking a lot of mental notes lately. She was in line getting lunch and he didn't really realize that he was staring until Forest nudged him. Parker was behind her, chatting her up. Graham scowled. The guy may have been in their squad, but he was a scoundrel who ruined the female population for a lot of them.

"Oh, uh, just studying. The library," Graham said. Another day, another lie.

"I didn't know you took your studies that _seriously_ ," Forest said with a snort.

Graham shrugged. Buffy moved to sit with her friends, her eyes completely moony for Parker. He frowned; disheartened that she would succumb to the likes of Parker. She didn't even know. Maybe he should've told her, but that would bring up other things, like his watching her and why he was curious about her and that was just something he didn't want to answer to, for now.

And, Graham wasn't wrong. He'd seen her come to his house party. Riley and Forest were talking tactics. He was busy watching her closely as she talked to Parker. A sudden scuffle made him tense and inch a little. He remained where he stood, but just barely. Some scumbag and his trashy Barbie girlfriend had confronted Buffy and Parker. They held up a student between them. He was stark pale and passed out. The conversation didn't last long. The man tossed the student at Buffy and then took off, jumping over the back of the couch.

"I'll be right back," Graham said, patting Riley on the shoulder.

He didn't catch what Riley said. He was already on the move, following Buffy and resisting the temptation to punch Parker along the way. Outside, there were several people talking and enjoying the party. He spotted Buffy almost instantly and she was holding a stake. She was talking to that guy again, bleach head. He must've been a vampire. A smile turned up the sharp curves of his cheeks. The blonde chick was behind him, sneering at Buffy.

"She left him for a fungus demon. That's all he talks about," the smart-mouthed blonde said, rolling her eyes.

"Harm!" bleach head exclaimed, angrily. He turned on her with a heavy scowl. "We are going."

He turned, giving Buffy one last glare over his shoulder.

"It isn't time yet," he said.

"Yeah! And as soon as we have the Gem of Amara you're going to be-" Harm said, nastily.

Bleach head growled and shook the girl before she could finish, dragging her off by the wrist. Buffy stared after the two with great confusion much like Graham did. Gem of Amara? Was it some kind of artifact? Why didn't any of them study artifacts?

Buffy went back inside to the party. Graham went back in, moments later, to see that Buffy and Parker were dancing together.

Why didn't he talk to her? That was a question that Graham asked himself a lot, especially right then. She was cute. But then there was Riley. He looked over at the big Iowa-bred boy. He kind of liked her too. It was easy to tell. Graham sighed. Parker led Buffy upstairs to his room. Graham should've stopped them, made a pathetic excuse. But he didn't. He did nothing.

Graham was still thinking about her the next day. Parker had been making light talk of the party at breakfast, but Graham left before he had to hear too much. He made his way towards the library. He wanted to know more about the Gem of Amara, but he had a feeling he was going to have to go into town to get more specific books on stuff like this.

And, he was right. There was nothing in the whole library. Not even in the database. He had a class at eleven, but he didn't really care too much about missing it, so he went into town.

He didn't go into town very often, but it turned out that there was a magic shop in a hidden little corner. He walked in timidly, unsure about what he was going to find or smell. The stench was thick and scratchy at the back of his throat. The whole shop was dim with only scattered candles and the light coming through the window coming in. The whole place was foggy. He glanced around, not seeing the shopkeeper anywhere.

Finding the book section was easy enough. There were several about magic and spells. Did people actually use this stuff? He picked up a book on demon mythology. Walsh would get a kick out of this, he thought. There were three other volumes to it. He took all four and found two other books on artifacts. One of them talked about the Gem.

He set the books on the counter and reached into his bookbag for his wallet. The shopkeeper came from behind a beaded curtain that led to the back.

"Light reading?" she inquired as she rung him up.

"Uh, yeah. Research for a class." That lie never got old.

He put the books in his bag after getting the receipt and saying thanks. What he didn't see during his visit was Willow Rosenberg browsing the shelves. She stared after him, her eyebrows raised and pressed together curiously.


	3. Chapter 3

**I am so happy about the attention this story is getting. I'm surprised too. I didn't think it would be all that popular.**

 **Please review guys. I really would love to know your thoughts on the story.**

 **Also, thank you to those who've reviewed, favorited and followed the story thus far.**

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Once back in his room, Graham dumped the books on his bed. They bounced on the comforter, sprawling out. None of this was just light reading that's for sure. He came out of his bedroom around one-thirty for lunch. His stomach growled, angrier than a lion. He trekked across campus, hoping there was something good on the menu today because if there were no demons trying to kill you then the food would. It was terrible.

On his way back from the cafeteria he stopped as a blur of a girl ran past him, frightened. He followed where she came from and stopped quickly at seeing a dark haired guy being tossed on the ground. He groaned and rolled onto his side. Graham looked to where he came flying from.

"Xander, get out of here," Buffy said, between grunts.

Bleach head was back. His face was disfigured, changed into his vampire form and…he was outside in the daylight. He found the Gem of Amara. Graham had read up on that first out of all his new books.

Buffy was poised with her fists up, ready to fight.

"So…" bleach head said, running a hand down his chest, lewdly, "you let Parker take a poke, eh? Didn't seem like you knew each other that well. What exactly did it take to pry apart the Slayer's dimpled knees?"

Buffy's face cringed, hurt, but it was only for a split second before she went cold.

"You're a pig, Spike."

Spike. Why did that sound familiar? Graham couldn't place it.

Spike jumped and knee-kicked Buffy in the side. Graham hurried to Xander's side to help him stand. The guy was a little fuzzy, but mumbled thanks.

"Did he play the sensitive lad and get you to seduce him? That's a good trick if the girl's thick enough to buy it," Spike continued. Graham moved to step in and help, mostly because he was starting to see red now, but Xander, still heaving breaths, stopped him.

"She's got this," Xander said. "Trust me."

Buffy was back up on her feet and kicked Spike twice with an added roundhouse kick. Spike just pushed her back down.

"I wonder what you did wrong?" Spike said

Graham felt a pang of guilt right then. Parker wasn't Buffy's fault. He should've told her about him at some point that night. He could've and he didn't.

Buffy grunted, sitting up.

"Uh, too strong?" Spike said, stepping even deeper into insulting her. "Did you bruise the boy?"

Buffy's lower lip quivered, but she bit down on it to stop it. Spike scoffed taking a couple steps.

"Whatever. Guess you're not worth a second go." Spike put his fingers to his lips thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, seems like someone told me as much. Who was that? Oh, yeah. Angel."

That was enough. Graham couldn't listen to anymore. He moved fast, tackling the vampire to the ground and completely surprising Buffy. She snapped out of it quickly when Graham was tossed aside easily. Spiked flipped to his feet and looked down at Graham just as confused and then laughed.

"Who's this? Recruiting new Scoobies?" He snorted.

"I-uh-" Buffy didn't have a clear answer and Spike didn't care. He swung and Buffy caught his arm, twisting it behind him. He let out an outcry. She grabbed the ring on his hand.

"No, don't! If you pull it off out here, we'll both burn," Spike said, his voice quick with fear.

"Really?" Buffy said, calling his bluff. She pulled off the ring on his hand.

Instantly, the vampire started sizzling, much like bacon in a skillet except it didn't smell good. Buffy wrinkled her nose at smelling cooking flesh. Spike shoved past her, causing the ring to fly from her hand. Graham just watched, frozen in awe. She does this and he just captures them, mostly with sheer luck.

"Are-are you okay?"

Graham looked up to see that Buffy was talking to him. He got to his feet quickly and brushed off his pants.

"Yeah. I heard yelling," he said. His head lowered. He always had that habit of not meeting a person's eyes. It was weird.

"Thanks for trying to help," she said.

Graham nodded. He had a habit of not speaking too. He just didn't know what to say. He was talking to her now, finally. Could he just blurt out everything he knew now? His eye caught the glimmering, gold ring on the ground and he moved past her to pick it up.

"Uh, here," he said, handing it to her.

Her fingers were cool as she took it. He walked away quickly, leaving her stunned.

"Well, that was…strange," Xander said.

"Really," Buffy said, blankly.

Graham was stunned in a stupor of stupid. He was crossing a line. A big, fat line between his job and this girl and he barely even talked to her. He shook his head. He couldn't do this. It was time to back out. He could be the guy who knew things and just left well enough alone. That's what he'd do.

He put the books he'd bought earlier that day at the bottom of his bookshelf.

* * *

"It's small," Oz said, his eyebrows lowering to his eyes in that mellow yet curious way.

"Really worth getting my ribs bashed in," Xander quipped, twiddling his clasped hands.

"It's obviously very dangerous, and, uh, we're destroying it," Giles said, though his voice skipped. He didn't want to get rid of it. He loved stuff like this.

"We don't destroy it," Buffy said, quietly. She was still a little distracted by the fight between her and Spike…and Graham? That was his name right? She didn't know much about him, except that Parker shared the same house with him and Riley.

But this Gem didn't get destroyed. It would go to L.A. Where the man she loves…loved could have it. While the two of them had a past, it wasn't all bad. Most of it if not all was pure love. He should have it.

"Buffy…"

Giles gave his spiel about any vampire getting their hands on the Gem would be unstoppable, but she knew that. Angel wasn't just any vampire though, so she wasn't worried.

"I have a gig in L.A. I can swing by," Oz said.

Buffy was grateful for the offer.

"What's in L.A.?" Xander asked, the whole conversation going over his head.

"She's giving the ring to Angel," Willow said. "Don't make a fuss."

Xander kept his mouth shut and nodded.

"You know what was really weird? Seeing that guy come out of nowhere and just tackle Spike," Xander said. "Who does that? Who goes running into death like that?"

Everybody stared at him, each with individual look that clearly stated: _really?_.

"Oh, right," he said, half laughing, awkwardly.

"That was weird," Buffy said. "Graham came running in like some macho hero. Definitely surprised me. I just didn't know what to say to him if he asks about it."

"Graham?" Willow said. "That's the guy?"

"Yeah," Buffy said, nodding.

"I saw him at the magic shop earlier today. He was buying all of these books," she said.

"Hm." Giles put the arm of his glasses to his lips, thoughtfully.

Buffy shrugged.

"Maybe it's no big deal."

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 **Don't forget. Review. Please. I can't read minds.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey lovelies! Thank you for the reviews. Super appreciative and for those who haven't, come on! I'm curious to hear from you.**

 **Thank you for the favorites and follows. I'm glad to see interest.**

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Graham came out of class and was surprised to see Buffy coming toward him and really fast and not looking too happy. Graham suddenly felt like the ground was much more interesting and that if he didn't notice her or acknowledge her, she wouldn't bother him. Then again, why was that a bad thing? She could answer the questions he had about her.

But what if she found out about him? There were no exceptions in the initiative. You didn't give away your position. That qualified him for a dishonorable discharge.

"Who are you?" Buffy demanded, stepping in his path.

He stopped, his mouth hanging open.

"Umm," he held out his hand. "Graham."

Very stupid, he thought to himself. Buffy's eyes narrowed her eyes him and she had that look again. There was complete surprise. He let his hand drop to his side and smiled awkwardly.

"That day," she started, and tucked her hair behind her ear as they walked. "The day when that guy attacked me and you came to help."

"When you were fighting a vampire?" The words came out too quickly for him to stop them. They'd been lingering there for so long.

Buffy stopped. Her entire face went slack. He turned, his eyebrows pressing together as he watched her process it. She looked like she was going to lie and make up some sort of excuse. He'd had that look several times when he had to make up one for himself.

"So much for being undercover girl," she muttered. Her face pinched with guilt. "How did you find out?"

"I saw you one night while I was on my home. You were fighting this girl, her face changed." Graham shrugged. "I guess it's good that you're a Vampire Slayer. I heard her say that too."

Buffy's jaw dropped. He knew a lot and he was completely cool about it.

Graham couldn't deny that her flustered look was cute. He smiled.

"I haven't told anybody," he said. "I think I would be considered crazy."

Buffy laughed and nodded. Her blue eyes twinkled and it was interesting because he'd never seen that before.

"Uh, yeah, maybe." She licked her lips and turned away, but spun back to face him. "So you knew about Spike then."

"And the Gem of Amara…" Graham pressed his lips together guiltily.

"Oh," Buffy managed.

"I just overheard you. I'm sorry. I was trying to help," he said. "I'm going to go."

He hurried past her, but she hurried to catch up.

"You don't have to help," she said. "You could get killed."

Graham rolled his eyes. She had a strange way of saying thank you.

"I have to go," He said, coldly.

"I'm sorry," she said, quickly before he could get away. She placed a hand on his arm. "I really am thankful."

He nodded, stiffly. He looked down at her hands. They were so small, and yet they damaged demons and vamps? Incredible.

He walked her to class without her even noticing. It caused him to be tardy to his own, but he was okay with that. They didn't talk about very much about her being the Slayer. He was okay with that. He wanted to know more but didn't want to pressure her. He wondered how she did this every day. He came home with some decent bruises and she didn't have a mark. Even now that he was officially talking to her, she was still a mystery. He smiled to himself. He liked that a lot.

"Hey, Graham," Forrest said, calling the broad shouldered Junior's attention as he sat down with him and Riley.

"Huh?" Graham said, distractedly. He was smirking inwardly at seeing Buffy break the handle of the frozen yogurt machine and try to put it back on.

"What do you think of the blonde chick?" Forrest asked nodding in her direction.

Graham tossed a fry in his mouth, his eyebrows furrowing. He gave, what he hoped was just a passing glance to them, at Buffy.

"Matressable? N'est-ce pas? Riley's not down," Forrest quipped with a doggish smirk. "Doesn't like her."

"I don't dislike her," Riley said, defensively, looking up from his mild pile of papers. "She just-she just never feels like she's really there when you talk to her."

Graham poured some salt on his fries, not that it would make them taste any better, all the while thinking—of course she doesn't seem like she's there. If only you knew why.

"I like girls I can get a grip on," Riley continued.

"I bet you do," Forrest said, the innuendo not lost on any of them.

"Not that way," Riley chuckled.

Graham didn't laugh.

"Just a little less ready for takeoff all the time. There's definitely something off about her."

"Maybe she's Canadian," Graham commented randomly. It was lame, but it would take the heat off of Buffy, and Riley's sudden thought that she was anything but normal.

Forrest shook his head.

"Didn't she go with Parker Abrams," he asked.

Graham stuffed his face even more. Thinking about Parker still made him angry. But if there was food in his mouth he couldn't say anything.

"For about, what, 30 seconds?" Forrest wondered.

"Yeah," Riley said with distaste, "there's a sign of good taste."

Graham was in agreement with Riley on that one even though he knew that his commander had a thing for her. Knowing that made him squirm a little inside and he just sighed and looked back at Burry as she paid for her lunch.

Maybe it was the adventure that was in her or her ability to be charmingly awkward. Buffy was…Buffy. There wasn't exactly a word for someone as special, as unique, as her.

But in that moment, right then, Graham took a step back. He couldn't move forward with his own feelings. He'd give himself away, not to mention his best friend being into her so suddenly. There was just too much on the line. So, he took a step back, not that any of them would notice it.

"Okay, but you've got to admit she's a major league hottie," Forrest said, still trying to get a rise out of Riley.

"I'm not denying she's easy on the eyes," Riley confessed.

Not just that, Graham thought to himself.

"I'm just saying…would you really want to go out with her?" Riley said. His eyebrows furrowed with doubt.

That was the million dollar question. Graham already knew the answer.

"Hell yes!" Forrest said with disbelief, like the man was crazy. "I bet a lot of guys would like to get their hands on her."

Graham swallowed hard, his head lowered. He chanced a side glance at her. She smiled, friendly and briefly at him as she passed by. Neither Riley nor Forrest noticed.

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 **It's short, I know. Don't forget to review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm sorry for the long wait. Tsk tsk on me. Beena bit busy of late, but I couldn't leave you guys straggling.**

 **Thank you to those who've reviewed, favorited and followed the story. That means a lot to me. I love feed back. It's a great encourager.**

* * *

Downstairs, in the TV room, Riley tossed Graham the Frisbee as he told Forrest the story from Psych. It had him completely riled up, but Graham was glowing on the inside as he listened.

"And so she says, "You teach Human Behavior maybe you ought to show some.""

"Oh you're lying. She says that to Walsh?" Forrest said it with a scoff of disbelief.

"Hope to die," Riley said, catching the frisbee tossed back to him.

"Don't lack for guts. Gotta give her that," Forrest said, impressed.

"Yeah, but she's nuts," Riley said, incredulously. He shook his head.

"Oh come on. Like you never wanted to tell the professor off." Forrest said.

Graham spotted Parker coming down the stairs and knew instantly that there'd be trouble, especially since Forrest couldn't help himself.

"Hey Parker," Forrest called.

"Forrest, what's up, man?" Parker greeted, casually.

"Hey, man, what's the scoop on Buffy Summers?" Forrest asked. "Is she cool?"

Graham's jaw clenched, his teeth gritting together.

"Buffy? Yeah, she's alright, I guess," Parker replied with a nonchalant shrug.

Graham made his way over to the group, trying to keep his fist from tightening together. This was going to go south and fast. It was Parker. And Forrest. Forrest never gave up on a subject matter and Parker…was just a dick.

"I mean, kind of whiny," Parker further added.

"How's that?"

Graham could tell that Forrest was now suddenly turned off at the idea of her now, which was good. The way he talked about her was grinding on Graham.

And whiny? Graham's fist clenched as he stopped beside Parker.

"Well, you know. Clingy." Parker's face scrunched in disfavor. And he just had to keep going. "I mean, we got a little physical—uh, well, fully physical—"

Suddenly that picture was in Graham's head and he started seeing red. He shoved his hands in his pockets, hoping that was enough to keep him from punching Parker's lights out. He put on his best fake grin of piqued interest.

"—And then she's all over me, you know, like we're betrothed or something."

Riley shifted uncomfortably and Graham was glad that it wasn't just him who was getting pissed off about the way Parker was trash talking her.

"No, but fun was had, yeah?" Forrest inquired, still.

Parker let out an unbelievable laugh.

"Oh, yeah. The word is stamina," Parker replied.

All the while, Graham grinned like a fool, wanting nothing more than to see his fellow friend on the ground, out cold. The veins in Graham's arms twitched.

"I mean, definitely a bunny in the sack," Parker said. "But later on, well…you know the difference between a freshman girl and a toilet seat? A toilet seat doesn't follow you around after you use it."

Graham pulled his hands from his pockets unable to stop himself, but Riley beat him to the punch, literally. He punched him square across the face. Graham stared down at Parker, flushing full of satisfaction even though he wasn't the one to throw the punch and looked up at Riley, shocked that he Iowa-boy had it in him. Then again, that single punch officially confirmed how Riley felt about Buffy.

Riley hurried out the front door fast. Graham and Forrest shared a look and followed quickly.

"I can't believe that I did that," Riley said, breathlessly.

"Welcome to the club," Forrest said, just as surprised.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you could've gotten into?" Forrest said, still reeling. "If Parker reported you…"

"He won't," Graham cut in, staring across campus. The son of a bitch had it coming. "He's too embarrassed."

"I hit him," Riley repeated.

Graham shook his head. Was he the only one not shocked?

"What the hell for?" Forrest said.

"He—he was just being so crude."

"Please," Forrest said, rolling his eyes. "You've heard me say much grosser things than that."

"Yeah, and most of those are about your own mother," Riley quipped, sarcastically, trying to ease his own tension.

Graham let out a chuckle at that. Mama jokes. There was always a mama joke.

"What is it?" Riley said, mostly to himself and then stopped walking.

Graham and Forrest turned. An unpleasant tightness gripped Graham's chest. He shouldn't have been affected by Riley's having feeling for Buffy, but he was.

"I just didn't like hearing him talk about Buffy that way. I think I…Well, I guess I like her."

"You're kind of like a moron," Forrest joked.

Graham couldn't agree more. Riley stared at him, both insulted and dumbfounded.

"So, you…you knew that I had feeling for her," he said.

"Everybody knows, man," Graham said.

He hated saying it. The words tasted like tin foil. That was probably because of how hard he was biting into his cheek.

"Oh, "she's peculiar"? Dead giveaway, buddy," Forrest said, mocking Riley.

Riley sighed.

"I'm always the last to know," he said low.

Graham tuned out the rest of the conversation. He didn't want to hear any more of it. The chance that he could've had slipped past the horizon. It was probably for the best. Riley was a better fit.

Graham was on his third cup of beer.

"Whoa, slow down," Forrest kidded.

Graham took another drink. Riley was talking to Willow on the couch.

"I need another drink," Graham grumbled.

Forrest gave him a look, wondering what his problem was. Graham sauntered off to the other side of the room to the keg. Catching Buffy's eye, he gave a short wave and received one in return. He chuckled at seeing her dancing.

Then suddenly he saw Xander hurrying in towards her and all the fun that sparkled in her eyes died. He couldn't hear them, but by the looks on their faces it wasn't good.

"Hey." Forrest tapped him on the shoulder as he looked down at his beeper. "We got a go."

Graham looked down at the beeper attached to his belt. He hadn't even noticed it going off. He followed to the elevator.

Walsh was already debriefing everyone when they got downstairs. Graham's head sloshed some, but not bad enough that he was a drunken idiot. He kept forward with a dead stare that was mostly just spacey until they moved out.

The fresh air did him good, helped clear his head. They were crouched down in some bushes. His knees shook as he struggled to keep balance. Graham peered out at the main quad. And, he wasn't sure if he was seeing it right? He pulled out his binoculars and looked through the lenses. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust. Was that Buffy? Shit.

"What've we got?" Riley asked.

Graham's eyebrows rose. He didn't have a solid answer. He sighed. Stay in uniform, he reminded himself.

"Civilian, sir," he replied, handing off the binoculars.

"Oh, damn," Riley said.

Graham's head nodded to the side. His thoughts exactly.

"She's compromising the area," Graham said, keeping his eyes focused on her.

She was probably looking for the same vampire they were.

"At least she's not making crazy, naked sex," Forrest commented.

"Told you," Riley said.

Graham shook his head, wishing to ignore whatever inside conversation they were having.

"We got to clear her out of there fast," Riley said.

"Maybe not," Forrest said, standing upright.

Graham could tell he was brewing up a plan. A dumbass plan. Riley could tell too.

"Just thinking," Forrest said with great contemplation. "If you're hostile 17, living off the crap we feed'em. What would you rather eat than that?"

He nodded towards Buffy who still sat on the bench, staring around aimlessly. Graham forced back a snort. They obviously couldn't tell that she was already playing bait. She brushed her bangs from her face.

"You want to use the girl I got a crush on as bait," Riley asked, stunned that Forrest would go that far.

"I can tag a hostile at 50 yards," Forrest said as if it justified using Buffy like that.

Graham knew though, that she would take down Spike quicker than he could pull the trigger. That made him grin. It shouldn't have, but it did.

"Denied," Riley said firmly.

"She'd be safe the entire…" Forrest said, starting to argue.

"I said denied, Agent." Riley cut him off.

"Did you just pull rank on me?" Forrest said.

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, sir."

Graham didn't deny that extra dose of joy it gave him to hear Forrest get knocked down a peg. The guy was full of himself sometimes.

"So, how are we gonna get her out of there?" Graham asked, curious to hear Riley's plan.

What happened next was both horrifying and hilarious. Graham didn't hear very much of the exchange, but watching was enough. He and Forrest laughed among themselves at watching the two try to get rid of each other. A distant scream caused them both to split in the end and Riley was leading them to one of the dorms.

They stopped right outside of the building. Riley wanted to be sure that Spike was here before raiding the building. There were several students in there. Graham used the thermal reader and instantly found Spike. He was on the second floor and cold as ice.

"…exactly room temperature," he said.

"Vampire," Forrest muttered with disdain.

Riley called out the orders as he put his ski mask on. They moved out quickly. Graham hoped Buffy wasn't in there. He wasn't sure if he could handle a run-in with her. What would he do? Tell her it's him? Let her kick his ass?

The lights shut down and panic ensued. Spike came from room 214 and immediately jumped Graham.

"It's on me!" he called out in the dark, right as Spike screamed in agony and threw himself backwards.

Riley and Forrest quickly grabbed the vampire from behind.

"Ow! My head. Ow." Spike groaned.

Buffy was nowhere in sight so far. That was good. Maybe he'd get out of this without any trouble. As he and Forrest dragged Spike along, he saw Willow cowering on the floor.

"Sir," Forrest said, pausing. "Civilian?"

He motioned at Willow and then pulled her up by her shoulders.

"Could've turned."

Graham opened his mouth to protest.

"Leave her," Riley demanded.

"We can't neglect quarantine." Forrest pressed.

Before there was any more arguing, Spike broke free of his bonds and kicked both him and Riley. Graham heaved in a deep breath, but was suddenly tossed down the hallway.

Somehow, Forrest had managed to keep a hold of Willow. Graham moved to get her free.

"She's contained," Forrest said.

"Contain this!"

Graham knew that brash voice. Buffy. His heart went at warp speed. Through his night vision goggles, he saw her aim a flare gun at Forrest and pull the trigger. Quickly, he ducked, covering his head as the flare bounced up and down the hallway. She was resourceful, that's for sure and he was blinded.

Graham ripped his goggles off as he stood, trying to see. The air was knocked out of him quickly as Buffy kicked him in the stomach. He blinked rapidly, leaning against the wall for support. She didn't know it was him.

He watched, briefly, as she and Riley traded blows. Spike ran past.

"Hostile's escaping!" Forrest exclaimed.

With mild hesitation, Graham followed Forrest. It was better than getting caught by Buffy at the moment. He wasn't sure she'd understand. Not right now at least.

Once back at the initiative, Walsh was handing them their asses basically. Graham kept his eyes on the ground as Forrest and Riley gave their best description of their attacker.

"He was big," Forrest said.

Graham's eyebrows furrowed at the comment and added,

"Strong too."

Riley shook his head. Graham tuned out the rest. He was more consumed with the fight that went down. A part of him seriously wanted to tell her about his being a soldier. Thank god, Thanksgiving Break was coming up soon-ish.

* * *

 **Don't forget to review! I highly enforce this! Like it? Hate it? Write and tell me about it!**

 **It could get me to update sooner.**


	6. Chapter 6

Buffy found herself hanging around Graham more and more, though secretly he was looking for Hostile 17 aka Spike. None of the others knew, not even Riley. Graham even went with her on some of her patrols. Doing so made it easier for him to look for the vampire while being inconspicuous…and yet he got a D in Covert Ops. Also, he got to see Buffy. That wasn't so bad either.

"Were you a Slayer in high school?" Graham asked as they walked around the dark cemetery.

"Yeah," Buffy said. She sounded melancholy. "I was a Sophomore. That's when I died too."

Graham stopped walking, stunned It was mostly because of how casually she sounded about it. She died? A pang stung his chest. He didn't know what to say to that.

"It's okay," she said. "I don't talk about it a lot."

That was understandable. He couldn't imagine her slipping that in during a cup of coffee.

"You're brave if you're still doing this," he stated as they started walking again.

"It's not like I can give the job to somebody else. I'm that chosen one," she said.

She flipped her waves of hair off her shoulder. Having him out here with her was nice. It was like having a slice of normal to herself even though they talked about her being a Slayer a lot, which was contradicting she guessed, but still. There was something about Graham. All of his calm and quiet. It wasn't like with Angel where she had to be worried about his broodiness. Graham wasn't broody-like at all. It was more stoic. It gave her peace of mind.

"Why are you so quiet?" she asked, playfully. "It's a ploy isn't it? A way to pull in all the girls?"

She nodded, wiggling her eyebrows, making him laughed. Did it work for her? He couldn't help but wonder. Remembering Riley's earlier confession got him to stop completely.

"You know, there's a party tonight," Buffy said, pulling him out of his head. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Huh? Oh." His brain stuttered. "I forgot."

It was a sheepish answer. He shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

* * *

Graham was out on patrol—again—on the outskirts of campus. Everyone was out tonight after a strange attack on Walsh. They were to capture, not kill whatever had attacked her. The way she described it, it sounded like a werewolf.

So he hadn't completely stopped wondering about Buffy like he hoped seeing as he'd gotten more books from the magic shop downtown. But there was nothing wrong with reading. However, he wasn't feeling too keen about hunting down a werewolf. It was a regular person twenty-seven days out of a month.

A rustling noise from the nearby bushes that snapped him from his thoughts. He inched toward it. Swallowing hard, he licked his lips and jumped through the bush, ready for whatever was there. Well, he was almost ready.

He collided with somebody else, knocking the wind out of his lungs and fell to the ground. His tranquilizer gun landed a couple feet away. He sat up to see that he'd run smack into Buffy. She jumped to her feet, her fists clenched and ready for a fight. He stared at her for a moment, thinking about how impractical it was to wear heels while out patrolling. It wasn't the first time he'd thought that. He reached for his gun, but Buffy kicked him in the face, nearly knocking him on his back. He grunted. Man, she hits hard, he thought. He reached for her instead and she struggled to get away from him, shoving him to the ground.

He grabbed a hold of her before she could punch him.

"Buffy!" he yelled. "It's me."

He pulled off his black ski mask. She stumbled backwards, bewildered at the sight of him.

"Graham?" She looked at him, taken aback. She shook her head. "I don't have time for this."

She picked up the gun that she was carrying and ran past him. Something in his gut told him that she was on the same path he was. He picked up his gun and ran after her. She ran into the science building. When he stopped, Buffy was struggling to keep a werewolf off of Willow. Graham didn't think twice, raising his gun, he pulled the trigger. The tranquilizer dart landed in the weerewolf's backside. It let out a whine before collapsing.

Buffy let out a huff. Her lungs burned while her heart raced in her chest after almost losing her best friend. Both Willow and Buffy turned to look at Graham. He licked his lips and lowered the gun. He blew his cover, but knew that he'd do it all over again if he had to. Willow looked to Buffy, tears glistening in her eyes and fell into her, heartbroken and sobbing. Buffy didn't look away from him though as she comforted her.

So much for not getting involved. He didn't even think about it. He just launched. Before he could say anything, not that he could think of anything, his walkie crackled.

"Squadron," It was Riley, but didn't seem to place it, "return to base. I repeat, return to base. Hostile 17 has escaped."

Graham's lips pursed together. He wished he could stay and explain. He didn't like that she looked at him like a completely foreign object. He turned, but she stopped him.

"Graham," Buffy said, stopping him. "Thanks."

He didn't nod or anything. He hurried off. Spike was on the loose and that wasn't good for anyone, especially him, since he was the one who helped capture him.

Walsh was already debriefing the squad when he arrived.

"Miller, good of you to join us," She said, not once looking up from her clipboard.

Graham lowered his head. Shame chilled over him. There was no good excuse for being late, except that he was all of the way across campus, but he couldn't' say that. He bit the inside of his cheek. Forrest gave him a sideways glance.

Graham wasn't too worried about Spike. A chip and a tracker had been put in him. He would be easy to find. And even then, he couldn't hurt anybody with the chip in his head. Any attempt to hurt an innocent would equate with extreme, searing pain. That gave Graham a lot of comfort.

After the debriefing, Riley spoke next.

"I know we're all running low on sleep, but we need to capture him. We'll go out in civilian clothes. We don't need others questioning us. Move out in an hour," he said with finality.

"What is going on with you?" Forrest asked the moment the meeting ended.

"What are you talking about?"

"You've secluded yourself off more than usual. You're late? And don't think I haven't noticed you missing classes," Forrest said.

"I was across campus, tracking that beast," Graham said, defensively.

Forrest rolled his eyes.

"What's going on here?" Riley asked, coming between the two.

"Ask him because he isn't telling me," Forrest said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Riley looked at Graham expectantly. Graham shrugged. He didn't give anything away regarding Buffy, especially after leaving her and Willow there in that lab with the werewolf. Hopefully they were okay and Buffy took care of the werewolf. Riley frowned.

"Move out," he said.

The three of them scanned the entire campus and by morning were searching the neighborhoods, but there was no sign Spike. Not even with the tracker. Maybe it took time to kick in. He hoped it was just that. They made their way back to the initiative when it appeared that they weren't going to get much farther.

* * *

Thanksgiving Break gave Buffy a lot of time to think. That meant making a big feast. Graham was one of those soldier boys. He'd gone home for the holiday, the big chicken. So she couldn't question him or beat him over the head with a turkey leg.

"You okay?" Willow asked, eyeing the bowl in Buffy's hands nervously. She'd been going at the mashed potatoes for the better part of an hour. "Thinking about Graham?"

"That obvious?" Buffy's eyebrows pulled together guiltily.

"It's shocking that he's…you know, soldier guy. I'm just glad he was there to help," Willow said.

"I'm sorry, Will," Buffy said, sympathetically. Oz had left the morning after his shift and Buffy had a feeling he wasn't coming back, but didn't have the heart to tell Willow.

"It's not your fault," Willow mumbled. "So, what are we going to tell the others?"

Buffy stopped mashing and frowned. Graham wasn't the bad guy, was he? He was the first decent guy she'd been able to be around since Angel, except for Riley of course. And that made her head hurt more. Was Riley a soldier boy too?

She continued mashing the potatoes. Somehow they weren't mushier than the peas.

The night wasn't an entire wash. Native American spirits attacked the house and it was like the first Thanksgiving all over again. Spike got shot with arrows as he sat, tied to a chair. That was entertaining. One of the spirits turning into a bear? Not so much.

All in all, Thanksgiving was a success and Graham was still on her mind right up until it came to light that Angel had been in town. She tracked him down in L.A., but the visit was short. She told him that he couldn't keep coming back if they were to stay away from each other. It was hard enough just seeing him for that short amount of time. Her heart still ached, thinking about Angel.

* * *

 **Review. Right this second. Please?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Crap, I was hoping to have this up a lot sooner. I am working on it. I've been a bit busy lately on a Covenant Fic. I'm a terrible human, I know. Buuuuuuuut, I bring you this new chapter. And for those of you worried that Graham is just a Riley overlap, don't be worried. Graham is Graham. You'll see.**

* * *

Graham returned to the university campus earlier than planned on Riley's wishes. He wanted the squad to make another round on campus to look for Spike. He didn't see Buffy once and felt a relief in that. He still had no idea what to say to her if he did see her.

However, he did see Willow and the perky redhead saw him too. Neither of them said anything. She half waved awkwardly with a grimace laced smile and hurried off down the sidewalk and he made his way back to the house. The rest of the evening was filled with studying until he fell asleep.

* * *

He awoke with a start, his alarm clock blaring. His physics book landed on the floor with a loud thump/smack. He sighed heavily and picked it up and put on his desk. The morning was eerily quiet. Rubbing his eyes, he looked out into the hallway. A couple guys were motioning at each other. Graham's eyes narrowed. What were they doing? He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He cleared his throat and tried again. Still, not a sound. What the hell?

After getting dressed in a plain grey T-shirt and jeans and lacing up his combat boots, he looked for Riley and Forrest. Maybe they knew what was going on. Not finding them, he went to the next place he could think of, Buffy's dorm. Neither she nor Willow were there. He should've went down to the Initiative. Walsh had probably laid out a plan already that went along the lines of "Keep everything under control. Keep the peace. There will be a lot of scared people.". The TV downstairs had the news on, stating that Sunnydale was in quarantine for a sudden outbreak. He was sure that Walsh called that in to cover for whatever was actually happening.

Keeping his head down, he started out toward town. He jumped and spun around quickly, fists clenched and ready to swing, when a hand touched him. Willow jumped back, her hands raised in surrender. A whiteboard hung from her neck. Her brows furrowed with an apologetic greeting. Graham stuck his hand in his pockets awkwardly, unsure of what to say or how he'd say anything. Willow scribbled across her whiteboard and then held it up.

 _I'm going to meet up with Buffy and the others. Wanna come?_

Graham looked around as if expecting somebody to be watching him. He gave a stiff nod. He owed an explanation to everyone, especially Buffy. Before walking off, he rubbed his throat, giving a questioning look. Willow was just as clueless as to why the whole town was speechless.

The Psych classroom that Willow had led him to was dark and saw that Buffy, Xander and the guy he guessed was Buffy's father was there. There was a blonde girl too, munching from a bag of popcorn as if this was some kind of viewing. He met Buffy's eyes instantly. Both of them were frozen. Xander waved awkwardly and then dropped his hand, his face twisting with confusion as to why Graham was there. The father bore a curious look as well.

Graham looked away from Buffy quickly and sat a couple of seats away from her. Buffy looked at him and wrote on the white board that she sported.

 _Go ahead Giles. He's with us…I think?_

She looked to him for confirmation, and Graham nodded without a second's hesitation even though he had no clue what was happening. Xander sneaked side glances at him, but Graham just ignored the scowl.

Giles used the overhead projector to tell a story, a nursery rhyme really. And it was creepy as hell. It was about The Gentlemen and apparently they like to rip out hearts. Shortly after explaining what they were dealing with, Giles pulled up another slide that said Buffy would go patrolling and everyone else would be on research duty. She gestured at herself dramatically, obviously not wanting to go. Graham couldn't help but chuckle, silently, thank god. While research duty sounded like fun, Graham was quick to follow Buffy.

Giles didn't interject, but watched closely as they walked off. He looked over at Xander who was just as worried. Willow shook her head as if to say everything would be okay.

* * *

The walk was quiet, not that Graham would've been able to say anything if he did have his voice. Buffy fiddled with her hands. He noticed that she did that when she was nervous. His eyebrows pressed in together as he continued to think himself into a hole. He opened his mouth and tried to speak and then sighed. No voice.

Buffy had ditched her white board with Xander. So they were practically in a boat without oars. Awesome. Though, she didn't look like she was angry with him. Not a bit.

She pointed off in one direction and then in another, more or less trying tell him that they should split up. Graham didn't want to. He wanted to hash out everything, but how? Reluctantly, he wandered off the opposite direction as her. Buffy watched after him as he walked off with slumped, broad shoulders, knowing that her gut should've been shouting for her beat some answers out of him and to be wary, but there was none of that. Even Willow agreed. He helped them big time and she wasn't used to that. Her lips curved into a frown that desperately tried to cover a smile.

She turned at the sound of scuffling to see Riley breaking up a fight between two men. Her eyes brightened at seeing him. She really liked him. He was kind and sweet and…peculiar. Everything that Angel wasn't. He greeted her in a tight hug, worry radiating off of him. It was like being swallowed by a lumberjack. She reveled in it. This wasn't like that stupidhead, Parker. He pointed one way, emphasizing that he had to go that way and she pointed the opposite direction. She bit her lower lip as she met his eyes, conveying what she hoped was longing. Finally turning away to go, Buffy was spun around fiercely and rather strong—a small ache throbbed at her shoulder—Riley's lips crashed down on hers, sending and incredible rush down to her toes.

After a full sweep of campus, Graham went back to Giles's place—Willow had given him the address. She'd been oddly nice to him—and walked in on an exchange happening between Anya and Xander that he wished he didn't see. The two rushed past him out of the house without even noticing him standing there. Giles stared at him, his eyes narrowed with great suspicion. Graham moved to the couch, throwing a threatening glare at Spike along the way. The vampire just sneered without a single clue that it had Graham who tossed him into the Initiative. Graham picked up one the many books on the coffee table and started reading. Giles looked at his girlfriend and she just shrugged.

Graham did well in keeping to himself until Giles offered him a mug of steaming black coffee. Graham took it, giving a nod in thanks. Giles's eyebrows quirked up once. He picked up the whiteboard on his writing desk a couple feet away and started writing. A knot pinched in Graham's stomach.

 _Who do you work for?_

There was no point in lying now. Plus, he knew about Buffy. He knew everything. Keeping this from her wasn't right. Graham outstretched his hand out and Giles handed him the board.

 _I worked for a military institution called the Initiative. We study…_

He pointed at Spike. He didn't know much more than that. The Initiative was like a rehabilitation center for some evils, like Spike, but in most cases it was so that they could learn how to take down demons and other dark creatures so that people would be safe…like Buffy. Giles stared at him thoughtfully and took the board back.

 _Buffy trusts you._

Coming from this man, that made Graham feel uneasy. He licked his lips, unsure of how to respond. He more than trusted her, but he wasn't going to tell her Watcher about it. He resigned to the strange, uptight scowl that seemed to be permanently engraved on the man's face. He pursed his lips and then picked up another book.

It was late when a sudden rush of air forced its way into Graham's chest.

"By god." Graham jumped at the sudden sound. Giles smiled and hugged his girlfriend close.

"Exactly," Spike said, rolling his eyes. Then he turned to Graham. "Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?"

His head cocked to the side, his eyes narrowing.

"No," Graham replied tersely. He got up from the couch and gave a nod to Giles.

"Thank you," Giles said and he sounded earnest about it.

Graham just gave another nod. He didn't know what to say. This was all still new to him. And, he wasn't sure how Walsh was going to react. He pictured a nuclear bomb going off in the back of his mind, mushroom cloud and all. That's if he said anything at all. He was pretty good at not saying anything. That wasn't lying. Not really.

Once back on campus, Graham started toward Buffy's dorm, wondering she was alright. He stopped outside her door, hearing her speak. She wasn't alone.

"I guess we should talk…" she said, trailing off. Graham peeked in stealthily. Riley sat across from her.

Graham turned and walked away. Apparently she was fine. His brow pinched together. A small ball of anger flickered in his chest. He was angry at Riley and he shouldn't have been. It's not like he said anything to Buffy. But he was angry.

* * *

"Hey Graham!"

Graham heard him. Xander. But didn't slow down. It wasn't that he had any place to be. He just didn't feel like talking. He still harbored mixed feelings and at the moment it was worry that still plagued him. That and he'd been avoiding Riley.

"Hey!" Xander came up next to him, keeping stride. "So, I never got to say thanks for helping out."

"What are you talking about," Graham mumbled.

"You know, losing the voice, doing the research. The thing." Xander juggled with his hands.

Graham spun on Xander, grabbing a handful of his shirt in his fist.

"Whoa!" Xander exclaimed.

Graham wasn't usually the researching type. He was a field guy. He let go of Xander and started walking again, mumbling an apology.

"So, you're a soldier boy?" Xander called after him.

Graham turned around and burned an icy glare into the townie.

"What do you want?"

"I want to know why you're after Buffy," Xander said, crossing his arms.

"I'm not. I just want…to help." That sounded stupid, but that was the best answer Graham could manage.

"Riiiiiight," Xander said. "And I'm Madonna's love slave."

Graham's brows furrowed, disturbed by the comment and the sudden vision of Xander in a dog collar that was being pulled on by the pop-star. He opened his mouth to speak, but didn't have a chance. The ground shook, starting out like a vibrating and graduating to a violent shake. Graham grabbed the back of Xander's Hawaiian shirt and shoved him to the ground, dropping with him. A tree, not super large toppled over nearby. Students shrieked across the quad, lying flat and covering their heads. There wasn't any serious damage.

After the quake ended, Graham stood up and looked around. That was his first quake, but by the ghostly look on Xander's face, it wasn't his.

"What's wrong?"

"The last time we had an earthquake, Buffy died." Xander looked around, worry creasing his forehead. "I have to go. I have a vampire living in my house and I should probably go make sure he isn't dust…not that I care. You should go see Buffy."

"Why?" Graham asked.

"Because for some reason she likes you. I think you and your soldier buddies are up to no good with all of that slinking around campus. Everyone will be rounding up at Giles's."

Graham sighed. He didn't want to. So he didn't. Buffy probably didn't want to see him. Intruding and trying to help, being a liar. Plus, there was Riley now. Where the hell did he fit?

While visiting the Initiative and receiving an order to be on the lookout for a new hostile, Forrest told him about the Aftershock Party in one of the dorms. Strangely, it sounded appealing. Well, not really, but it was a distraction. Riley joined the two of them after a moment and Graham went rigid.

"What's a Slayer?" Riley asked.

Forrest snorted.

"Slayer? A Thrash band," he replied off-handedly. "Anvil-heavy guitar rock with delusion of Black Sabbath."

Graham smirked, laughing silently.

"No," Riley said, his voice oddly firm. "A girl. With powers."

"Oh," Forrest said with a nod, understanding lighting his eyes up. " _The_ Slayer."

"Fill me in," Riley said.

The three of them paused. Graham looked between them, conveying a look of curiosity as well, even though he knew the Slayer.

"Well, the way I got it figured, the Slayer's like some kind of bogeyman for the subterrestrials. Something they tell their little spawn to make'em eat their vegetables and clean up their slime pits."

Graham resisted a snort and an eye roll. A bogeyman. Well, not far off.

"You're telling me she doesn't exist," Riley said with skeptical eyes. Graham could see it though. Riley knew about Buffy.

"Oh, wait a sec." Forrest scoffed. "Am I bursting somebody's bubble here?"

Graham quirked an eyebrow at Riley, crossing his arms over his chest. All of the attention wasn't directed at him and that was fine. He'd never thought about the perspective the Initiative had on the Slayer.

"Maybe this is a bad time to tell you about the Easter Bunny," Forrest continued.

Both Graham and Forrest laughed.

"It's a myth, Ri," Forrest said. "All part of that medieval folklore garbage kooks dream up to explain things we deal with every day."

Graham shook his head. Maybe folklore, but it wasn't a myth. Riley would see.

"How do you explain the things we deal with, Forrest?" Riley quipped. He looked at Graham, too, for an answer.

"They're just animals, man. Plain and simple," Forrest said.

Graham couldn't devise an answer. Not after what he'd experienced already. It was more complicated.

"Granted a little rarer than the ones you grew up with on that little farm in Smallville, but-"

Forrest's statement was cut short as a guard and doctor passed by with a large demon with large devilish horns and greyish skin. The demon broke free and attacked. The three of them tackled it to the floor, luckily got it indisposed, though with difficulty. Graham knew that Buffy would've had this thing down without breaking a sweat. Forrest grumbled something about the earthquake, causing Graham to flashback to Xander's comment. Going to a party seemed like a great idea now.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello, lovelies! I know it's been a while. I apologize.**

* * *

The lights were still out and there were glow sticks galore moving around the dorm building in a feverish haze. It was like it was the end of the world in here. Normally, the lower classmen parties weren't Graham's scene, but the music blared loud enough so that he couldn't think. His eyes caught onto a bright red jacket and edgy, short hair. Willow was talking with a couple friends that he'd never seen before. She wandered off after a little while and he found himself hanging out in a corner.

Right as he was ready to leave for the night since this was doing nothing for him except create a headache, there was a scream. Graham's eyes scanned across the room. Willow was gone.

"Shit," he mumbled.

He ran in the direction of the scream while those at the party bared looks of confusion and panic.

Sunnydale, the town that never sleeps and you can always worry that you might turn up dead, Graham thought. He left the room to the hallways. Dorms lined both sides. Half of them were open. He paused right then because he didn't know which room the screaming came from. He didn't know until Willow came running out of one a couple doors down, tears streaking her cheeks.

Graham grabbed her by the shoulders, holding her steadfast.

"Willow, are you okay? What happened?" He asked, craning his head down to her level.

"There's a guy." She sniffled, pointing at the room she ran out of.

"Stay here," he said and went to have a look.

He froze in the doorway. A male student lay on one of the twin beds, his chest carved up and with a symbol he didn't recognize, but he knew somebody who might. Graham hurried out of the room and led Willow back to the TV room.

The police arrived shortly and broke up the remaining people that were still lingering, except for Willow. Graham stayed with her while the police questioned her. Here and there Willow tried to offer a smile of reassurance to prove that she was okay, but it was obvious that she wasn't.

Buffy showed up after a little while. She and Will talked about some guy named Percy. Both of them were pretty disgruntled.

Glancing down, Graham saw his beeper going off. How long had that been going, he wondered. He disappeared back to the house before they could talk to him.

Buffy and Willow retreated to Giles's. While Willow gave the low down, Buffy was still thinking about Graham. He'd been there for her.

"…the whatever took a bunch of the guy's blood with him," Willow said. "And I haven't been a nerd for a very long time. Hello! Dating a guitarist…or I was…"

Willow wrote down the symbol that had been carved into the guy's chest. She was still very spooked. Then all of them became spooked because it was apocalypse time again. End of the world. Dunnzo.

Buffy volunteered to go out and look into finding out what this sign was about. Mostly it was just her avoiding flashbacks of her complete-death experience. She'd had flashes back to the night the Master killed her. sucking in all of that water, stopping breathing. Every once in a while…a long while, she shot up at night, gasping for air. You never forget the first time you die.

Morbid much? She thought to herself.

The cemetery was quiet. Too quiet and that meant bad things. Her hand tightened around the grip handle of the crossbow and spun around.

Graham stumbled backwards, his hands shooting up in defense. Buffy paused, her eyebrows drawing in a flat line. His bright, alarmed eyes didn't leave the sharp tip of the bolt pointed at his face.

"Graham, what are you doing out here?" Buffy tongued her cheek, completely confused.

"Uh…" He took a moment to regain himself. His heart slowed down. "I was patrolling. Turns out there was a weirdness happening and the look on your face is only solidifying that."

Buffy lowered her crossbow and spun away.

"Sorry," she muttered.

Something was wrong and it wasn't just the way she responded that he knew that. Xander had been seriously freaked out too, earlier today. What was going on?

"Remember when I said I died?" Buffy said, turning back around.

Slowly, her head rose so that she met his stormy grey eyes. He nodded. Buffy fiddled with the point of the bolt, pressing her finger against it.

"It was a prophecy thing. The world was ending and I had to die, but then I didn't and the world didn't end," Buffy said. She frowned, her eyes falling away to the ground. She bit her bottom lip.

"Okay."

That's all he said.

That's all he said?

Buffy's head shot up and she looked at him incredulously.

"Okay? The world was ending. I died."

"But you're here now. That's good…right?" Graham shook his head, confused.

"Well, yeah…" she trailed off, "yeah."

"So what's wrong?"

Buffy shook her head. How did he not know? Oh, right. He hadn't been there the first time.

"It's happening again," she said.

"Wait." Graham stepped closer to her. " _IT_ is happening?"

Buffy's lips pressed into a thin line and she nodded. A couple strands of hair fell from behind her ear.

"I…" Graham struggled for words, but this wasn't like other times that he'd had trouble finding words. This was because there were none. He didn't want her to die. He suddenly didn't want her around this at all, but how the hell would he stop her.

Buffy tucked her hair back to its usual spot behind her ear.

"Can I do…anything?" His voice was a low rumble of thunder.

"Want to help me look for a stupid symbol?"

The world was ending and she wanted help looking for that? It was stupid and she knew it. Graham didn't make it stupid at all though. He offered a supportive smile and nodded.

They stopped at a mausoleum. Buffy pointed her flashlight up at the same symbol that had been carved into that guy. And out the front of the stone tomb came a green demon that actually looked more alien than anything. He carried a dark tan sack and she guessed there weren't potatoes in there.

"Stay close and don't get hurt," Buffy said quickly before diving in. "Leaving so soon?"

The demon spun around and the fight ensued the way it always did. She pulled the trigger of the crossbow and the bolt soared, landing in the demon's shoulder. She tossed the weapon aside and threw a couple of punches and then the green creature from the black lagoon slammed her back down on a gravestone. Buffy groaned. The demon raised its hands up high, but Graham slammed into him from the side and the two rolled to the ground. Buffy groaned some more. Throbbing sparks of pain shot up her back. Great, she thought, now I'll have to add going to the chiropractor to my never ending list.

Her slayer sense tingled and she flipped to her feet, spinning around with her fists tight. She swung first, not seeing who stood there. Each punch was almost perfectly blocked.

Buffy gulped, staring wide eyed at Riley.

Wait. Riley?

Buffy's eyes darted past him. Both the demon and Graham were gone.

* * *

Graham chased after the demon but lost him off the west side into the woods. He wheezed in and out, gripping his knees for support. Damn, that thing was fast. Static came across his walkie.

"Base one. This is Lilac one?"

Graham paused, debating if he should answer. It was Riley. Riley was with Buffy. He'd seen Riley coming up as he chased after Mr. Black Lagoon. Better him than Forrest answer, probably. He pressed the talk button on the side of the walkie.

"Go," he said into the speaker.

"Confirmed sighting of an unidentified Sub-T. Mobilize patrol team for debriefing as 0100 hours."

Graham sighed heavily through his nose.

"Copy that," he replied.

A sudden thought occurred to him as he made his way back to campus. What if Buffy told him that the two of them had been hanging out? What the hell would they be talking about?

Once back on campus, he didn't go to the house. He decided that it could wait. Instead, hhe made his way toward Giles's. Buffy arrived an hour later. Neither of them said a word, but he was pretty sure she had a lot to say. It was all in her eyes and the way her lips pursed angrily. But they said nothing to each and went straight into research mode. Giles looked between the two of them, his eyebrow arching curiously. Graham settled in the chair by the couch.

It was in the early hours when some headway was made. Giles mentioned the name of the sea-squid demon, but it was a mouth-full. Willow ewed and Xander seconded it with a shudder. Buffy was transfixed by the picture, getting it stuck in her memory so that the next they met she could kill it.

"Limbs with talons, eyes like knives, bane of the blameless…thieves of lives."

Graham got up and stopped beside her, getting a look for himself. Buffy didn't stiffen at all from the slight brush of his arm against her arm when he leaned in closer to see the entry in the book that Giles held. He scratched the back of his neck. Riley was probably losing his head at him not being at the debriefing…if he noticed.

They went over what the demon might've been looking for. All of this was still mind-blowing for Graham. It wasn't mechanical. They weren't going to tote this monster in and do experiments on it. They were going to destroy it and save a lot of people in the process. This was their life. It was one hell of a life.

"The thing isn't digging up the bones of a child for fun," Buffy said, sighing stressfully.

"Well, the demon has some pretty hilarious ideas about fun," Xander smarted off.

"Bones of a child though," Willow said thoughtfully.

"I saw that…" Graham suddenly broke in.

All eyes fell on him, but he wasn't worried about that right now. He snatched the book from Giles and started flipping through the yellowed pages. His grey eyes brightened. He'd read it earlier. He knew he did. He stopped on a page about sacrifices.

"An ancient ritual…uses the blood of a man, the bones of a child," Graham shook his head at this last one, "and something called The Word of Valios?"

He looked up at the others. Xander looked him with complete surprise. Graham handed the book to Willow.

"It's a sacrifice of three?" he said, his brows furrowing unsure.

Giles's lips pursed. He knew quickly that that meant he was thinking about something. Something important.

"Let me guess? It ends the world?" Buffy said flatly.

"Yeah, it's not big with the details though," Willow said.

Graham rubbed his chin as he turned away and looked down at the small TV. Did Giles even use that thing? Graham shook his head. Thinking about whether the watcher used the TV or not wasn't important. The end of the world? Important. Important enough that "It's The End of The World as We Know It" could be played appropriately. How did one handle their first apocalypse?

"It doesn't say how the world ends o-or what the ritual entails exactly," Willow continued.

"The sacrifice of three…" Xander started trancing out now, rubbing his fingers together. His head snapped out of it. "Three people are going to die?"

"No," Buffy said. Her voice was filled with that confidence. It was the same confidence Graham was drawn to. "They won't because claw-boy isn't getting his hands on all of these ingredients. We have to find that third one, The Word of Valios, and keep him from getting it."

"If he doesn't have it already," Willow said sullenly. "I mean, who knows where he's been."

"I may actually be able to help…" Graham said. He didn't know why he didn't think of it before. He looked over Willow's shoulder, down at the book again. She'd flipped back to the page of the demon. Just as he thought. This thing had a signature.

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.

"I have a reader." He bit his bottom lip. "It's able to track heat signature as well as hormone signatures. By the looks of it, this thing has a pretty wide pheromone give-off. We'll find it."

Buffy began to smile, impressed. Even Giles was intrigued. The small smile on the small woman dropped quickly though.

"Riley was there tonight. He's going after the demon," she said. She looked at Graham, her face hard and cold and especially helpless against the Iowa boy.

"He's going to have a patrol team. Since it's daylight, they'll probably go out in civilian clothes. That gives us until sundown. If they get to the demon first, they'll capture it," he told her.

"Okay, good. That's good." Buffy nodded. "That gives us a little time."

She turned to the rest of the group.

"Graham and I will check the magic shop. See if they'd heard of a book called The Word of Valios. Will, Xander, how about the book archive?" Graham watched as she dished out the roles.

"We'll stop by my house, get some weapons and I'll change out of something that isn't anchovy scented." Xander looked down at his appearance pathetically. Graham didn't say anything, but Xander did smell funky. To each their own. Gotta make a living somehow.

"You guys," she looked at each of them intensely and that's when Graham saw it. She was terrified for them. "This thing takes wicked seriously. Be careful. I couldn't stand anybody getting hurt."

She glanced at him when she said the last bit. Why did she look at him?

Downtown Sunnydale was bustling with the night crowd. It was like the end of the world wasn't nigh. Nobody had a clue.

"I didn't tell him," Buffy said. Graham looked over at her, but she avoided his heavy gaze. "About you helping us and everything."

He smiled softly. That did make him feel better. She cared about him and he knew it. She could've turned him over and he would've been done for at the Initiative, but she didn't.

Graham stumbled a step suddenly. Riley was coming toward them. Shit, he thought. Her not saying anything only prevented the inevitable. Graham's heart pounded against his broad chest. The proverbial…crap was about to hit the fan.

The three of them stopped. Riley looked at Graham, his brows furrowed with confusion and anger. Graham stiffened. The protocol to stand upright in the presence of his commanding officer kicked in and was a struggle to quit. Riley looked down at Buffy, but only after giving him a look that said they were going to have a serious talk later.

"Buffy," Riley muttered.

It was tense between them too. She was quiet for a long second and Graham didn't dare speak. It was awkward enough.

"Is this really the time for Donkey Kong?" She tried to smile.

Graham choked back a chuckle at the joke. It did look like a toy.

"What?" Riley said confused.

She looked down at the tracking device in his hand. An exact replica was in Graham's pocket for after the magic shop visit.

"Oh…" Riley said. He played with it. "It takes pheromone readings of creatures."

He glanced at Graham.

"But, I'm guessing you know that."

Buffy half nodded.

"I guess I figured it out."

"You know, Buffy-" Riley started.

"Actually, we have to go." She threw a glance at Graham. It was a plea for them to go because she couldn't do this conversation and frankly, neither could he. "Big bad needs to be squished."

"Right, I'm…"he looked at Graham, "on it too."

Everybody was paying attention to him now. He rolled his eyes. He knew Riley would've rather have said we instead of I'm. Graham inhaled through his nose deeply, but stood his ground. Riley wasn't going to make him back down from this. Sure, they'd talk about it later or maybe they'd throw a couple of punches. Whatever, he thought.

Buffy started to move around Riley, but he stepped in her path.

"It's just…this you and me thing. It's stupid."

Buffy's cheeks flushed a soft pink and she looked down at her feet.

"I know, which is why we can't do it—the you and me thing."

Graham hated that there was a him and her thing. More so, he was pissed at himself for letting it happening. He became that guy who let her get away.

"No, I mean you're stupid," Riley blurted in a huff.

Both Graham and Buffy's head reared up at him, their faces screwy. Riley sighed.

"I mean, I don't mean that." He shook his head. "No, I think maybe I do."

"Wow," Buffy scowled. "More sweet talk like that and you'll melt my reservations."

"I'm serious! You have this twisted way of looking at things."

Graham's jaw tightened. He had no idea what she'd been through. Neither of them really did, but Riley wasn't even trying to understand it. It was infuriating.

"This doom and gloom mentality. You keep thinking like that and things are probably going to come out as you expect."

Graham's eyebrows were drawn across his eyes and he bit the inside of his cheek to not say anything. He couldn't. This wasn't the time.

Buffy didn't say anything at first.

"You know," she said after a breath, "there's nothing more dangerous than a pysch grad student."

They started walking again. Thank god. Riley stopped them again and this time he wasn't even looking at Graham.

"Buffy, where is the bad here?" Riley asked, insistently.

"Ri," Graham said. The undertone of a warning was not lost on his friend.

Buffy scratched the back of her neck, badly wanting out of this situation. He was pressing this too hard. Graham nudged her in the shoulder.

"How about we approach," she looked around, "our jobs as fry cooks later."

Riley sighed heavily, shaking his head. He didn't want to give up.

"You know, if you weren't so self-involved you wouldn't think like this."

Graham opened his mouth, but Buffy spoke first.

"You don't even know me." Her gaze was hard and her voice low and cold.

With that they took off.

"Thanks," Buffy mumbled as they continued.

"For what?" Graham said. "I didn't do anything."

Buffy nudged him with her elbow. "You didn't pummel him."

"I thought about it."

"He's your best friend."

"And he had no idea what he was trying to talk about. Even I don't completely understand you yet, but I'm not dumb enough to open my mouth and get myself murdered by you for it."

Buffy smirked and looked up at him through long, lush eyelashes. He stared across the street. At what, she didn't know. How was he so collected, especially now? You couldn't train patience like that into a person. It was extraordinary.

They returned to Giles's with no luck. Walking through the front door, Buffy froze, her hand tight on the doorknob. Graham, placing a hand on her shoulder, peered past her. Giles was collapsed in a chair, his face a bloody mess. That wasn't what caught his eye. Spike sat in the chair in the corner. He was wearing a seriously tacky Hawaiian shirt.

Buffy moved to Giles's side. Turns out he had The Word of Valios the entire time. Giles was lucky to be alive. He'd gotten trampled by three of those demons. He looked like a bruised piece of fruit. Take your pick: apple, peach, banana.

Graham looked at Buffy. Her mind was whirring. Willow hurried to the tiny kitchen and opened his freezer.

"I thought it was a knock-off," Giles went on.

Willow returned with a hand towel of ice. Giles mumbled a thank you, taking the chucky pouch and pressing it to his forehead, grimacing.

"Well, they have it," Buffy said. She didn't outright say anything, but Graham could see the disappointment in her eyes. "They probably have their three sacrifices too."

"They're on their way to perform the sacrifice now," Giles said, grunting. No matter how he turned in his seat he wasn't finding a comfortable position. Graham moved around the couch. He glanced at Spike again. The vampire was just lounging back like this was his hideaway. The fact that he was so comfortable was odd. Buffy was right there. Then again, it made sense. He was basically a neutered puppy. Pathetic.

"You found out what the ritual is for?" Buffy asked.

"Hellmouth," Giles breathed dreadfully. "It can reopen the Hellmouth."

Graham stiffened. They all did. The rest of what Giles said was lost. Buffy's eyes widened with utter terror. She stared off at nothing. Graham put his hand on her shoulder. Her hand moved to his instantly and she held it tightly, but didn't look up at him. Her nails were pinching his skin, but that was okay. Right now, he was just here for her.

And then she stood, letting go and looked over at Willow and Xander.

"Looks like we're going back to high school." The trembling fear that had been in her eyes was replaced with determination.

She glanced back at Graham.

"You transferring in?" Her eyebrows rose.

Though there was a pun in that. Graham understood what she was really asking. Was he in this? Was he really ready to join this fight? Graham didn't need to think twice. This felt real. He felt actually alive, as ridiculous as it sounded. This wasn't a follow orders kind of mission. This was save the world with your friends kind of mission. He could get behind that.

"Most definitely," Graham responded.

He noticed the smile that Willow was trying to hide. Her eyes glowed with glee. Xander was a mixture of beffudlement.

* * *

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